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Sleepless
Clara laid awake.
She hadn't stopped thinking about John since their meeting. There was just something about him that didn't make any sense. Why would they chose someone older?
Realistically, she only knew about the Doctor's because of her fellow companions. She really didn't know much because they hadn't been able to tell her much. Rose obviously knew more than she was letting on, probably she couldn't tell them for whatever reason.
Maybe Martha knew more as well. They were the two that had been there the longest. She had wondered if there had been more before them but she was sure that there had been.
She rolled over and looked at the clock. It was just before one in the morning. She needed to sleep but she just didn't feel that tried.
There was something going on. Martha's disappearance had caused a stir between Rose and Sarah-Jane. She had been told that she had to keep an eye on everyone that goes out and not just to wait for a call to come in.
Something was happening and Clara wanted to know what Rose did.
The light turned on and Peter squinted. He stretched before entering the kitchen. He dragged his hand across his face as he filled up the kettle and put it on.
He was tired. He could feel it. But for some reason, he couldn't sleep. Clara was on his mind but it was more about the conversation that they had.
Bad memories? They were the worst. They had been replay ever since and he couldn't stop them.
He just about remembers been left on the doorstep of a foster home when he was three. He remembers being pushed around and beaten up by the older kids when he was only six. He remembers the same kids bullied him into stealing for the local shop, them pushing him in there and telling him to get it or they would make his life hell. He was only 11 and he got caught.
It didn't even stop as he got older. As the older kids left, the ones that replaced them were just more creative. The worst time was when they dragged him from his bed and stripped him before locking him outside. The care worker who had found him in the morning had been horrified and punished him without asking him for an explanation.
Then it didn't stop even when he left that place. Because it was shut down, it was easier to get lost in the system. He moved closer to where he had been born but life was harder on the streets, especially for a 16 year old. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up spending a spell in hospital because of the damage they caused.
He had hoped that the older he go the less it would happen to him. After that night, he had managed to get a job and for once he felt like his life was coming together. It wasn't the best job in the world but he had a steady income and he was grateful for the chance.
He remembered the day clearly because it was the day he decided to chance his whole career. He had saved up for a while and was just going to place a deposit down on one of the houses that he passed every day as he went to work. On the way, he was mugged and they took everything from him.
Peter sighed heavily as he brought himself out of his thoughts. Something was bound to go wrong. His life will crash around him again. He would lose his job and then his flat and then he will go back to what he used to do. It always happens when he gets himself back on his feet.
It didn't help that he thought he knew what was going on. If she was out there and making that plan work, then it shouldn't be Clara that he should be looking into. They should be paying more attention.
He stretched a bit further this time and winced, bring his hand up to his ribs. It still amazed him that after all these years, it still hurt him sometimes.
He quickly made himself a coffee before walking off to find his laptop. There was better things to do than reminisce about the past. There was nothing he could do to change it.
His eyes flicked to the piece of paper sitting next to it before picking it up. Clara wanted him to call her. It was weird to think that she … well seemed interested in him. He dragged his hand through his hair. Why would she want him?
He was much older than her and his hair had already greyed. There was nothing really about him that should have been appealing to her.
Maybe it was just a stunt that she was pulling because she knew he was a Doctor. Maybe it was her way of trying to draw him out and then run off into the sunset before deleting herself again.
He opened up the internet and tried a different approach. He had managed to work out that she was born in 1980s and that she hadn't been in the industry long, which would explain her mistakes. He couldn't place her accent at first but he now knew that she was from Blackpool.
So he typed that in, looking for any schools in the Blackpool area that would have had a student called Clara Oswald in the 90s.
There were a few pages that popped up that matched it. He opened up the Doctor's database and typed in the same search. As that took its time to load, Peter looked through what he had already found. He clicked on a number of them and searched through them as carefully as he could. He was sure that she wouldn't have changed much.
He reached the last website and clicked on it. His screen went white and it started to make a weird noise. He cursed it before tapping every key and every combination of keys he could think of, without touching the power button.
He then cursed Matt. He was the one to create the Doctor's database, security and anti-virus. He assured them all that nothing could get through it. Bearing in mind Clara got into their database a number of times, Peter wouldn't be surprised if some virus did get through.
He hit the keyboard and it went silent. The white screen flashed before a box with a cross in it came up. Peter stared at it before closing the laptop lid. He had no idea what it was but he just hoped it would stay there until he had the chance to show it to someone.
